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Gerry Reid, MHA for the District of Twillingate-Fogo and Opposition
Fisheries Critic, says he cannot understand why Minister Taylor would say
that international crab buyers have concerns about the quality of
Newfoundland and Labrador crab, when media reports this morning say that
these same crab buyers have confirmed that local crab is of good quality.
In the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Minister Taylor stated that he had
met with international crab buyers in Boston who told him that Newfoundland
and Labrador crab was of poor quality and may be de-listed. Upon questioning
by the media, Minister Taylor stated that he did not remember the names of
the companies. However, he later changed his answer and said in a statement
that he could not release the names of the companies because of
confidentiality issues.
"This whole situation is getting more bizarre by the day," said Mr. Reid.
"Did the minister actually meet with crab buyers who raised concerns or did
he make this story up in an attempt to pressure fishermen to accept
production quotas in the crab sector. Regardless of the answer, his position
will do nothing to strengthen the crab industry in this province.
"It is the processors in this province who purchase, process and package
their crab. They stamp their names on the boxes before they ship their
product to the United States or elsewhere. Should their be poor quality crab
on the market, it would not be difficult to ascertain which individual
company was shipping that crab. For the Minister of Fisheries to blame this
on competition in the province’s crab sector is absolutely ridiculous and
nothing more than an attempt to spread fear and encourage fishermen to go
along with his ill-thought out plan to implement production quotas.
"If the minister truly feels that there is poor quality crab being
shipped from this province, I ask the minister what he intends to do with
the company or companies who are jeopardizing our lucrative crab industry.
For government to blame fishermen or competition for poor quality is
unacceptable. If concerns have truly been raised by international crab
buyers, I ask the minister to reveal the names of the those companies so
they can justify their concerns themselves."
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